Azerbaijan

Baku

The adventures of overlanding never end. I (Nico) had an interesting two weeks in Istanbul, waiting for the group to travel with Brooke through amazing Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. I was to meet them in Baku. I expected to get there after them, because my flight to Baku was booked for well after twenty four hours after they were scheduled to arrive in Turkmenbashi. I could not contact them, because they were at sea, so when I landed in Baku I went to the hotel we use there. The confused lady behind the reception desk did not know anything about a big group checking in that day, so I set off to find a local sim card to make some calls.

I phoned the local agent and got a hold of Kirsten in the Odyssey office and together we figured out the boat was still on the other side of the sea! Well, the rest is history. I enjoyed an extra day in Baku and the guys arrived two days later. After breakfast and a shower we went exploring the city.

The city spent a lot of money restoring the old city. It is beautifully done with small shops and restaurants in old buildings surrounded by a big fort wall. There is street art and big sculptures everywhere in the city.

My one must-see tip for Baku would be to walk along the newly built promenade on the sea shore to the old city for some local beer and dinner in an old low-arched ceiling building.

Baku Old Town

Old town, new cars

The Maiden's Tower

Old town, with the modern city skyline beyond

Art in the old town

Sheki

We had a busy day today. We had to drive to Sheki and stop off at some of Azerbaijan’s historical sites.

Our first stop was the Diri Baba Mausoleum that was built in the early fifteenth century. This is a strange building that seems to be hanging onto the cliff. There are many myths and legends about this place, and nobody is quite sure about the exact history of it. Adding to the strangeness is an ancient cemetery across the valley.

Our next stop was the Juma Mosque of Shamakhi. Juma means it is the main mosque of a city or town. This mosque is also known as the Friday Mosque. It was built in the mid eighth century. Since then it has seen earthquake, war and fire. The Azerbaijan government restored it only a year ago. The building seems massive in a town that does not seem that big. It is well worth a stop when you are passing through on your way to or from Baku.

As it goes, we got our first flat tyre of the trip after that! As you can see in the photo, all the guys got down and dirty to help change it…

Soon we were off again to our last stop in Sheki, Khan’s summer palace. It is a historic house built in 1797. It is not a big palace at all, but what makes it special is the detailed artwork on the inside. It took ten years to build the house, three years for the structure, and seven years for the interior. Unfortunately they don’t allow you to take pictures on the inside. You’ll have to come see it for yourself.

Tonight we are staying in a real karvansarai, a traditional Silk Road hotel. It is a strange old building with arches and walls a meter think. Exciting!

And tomorrow we head off to a new country yet again: Georgia.